In October 2012, Vanguard announced plans to change the tracking indices for many of its index funds and ETFs. The Valley Forge, Penn.-based firm said the move would affect 22 index funds, including ETFs.

The asset manager said it planned to transition six international stock index funds to FTSE benchmarks and 16 U.S. stock and balanced index funds to new benchmarks developed by the University of Chicago’s Center for Research in Security Prices (CRSP).

The shift is “expected to result in considerable savings for the funds’ shareholders,” Vanguard said at the time.

In a press release this week, the firm said VGK and VPL reported 2012 expense ratios of 0.12%, a decline of 2 basis points from 2011. “The current expense ratios of the funds will not be immediately affected by the transition, although Vanguard expects that the licensing agreements with FTSE will enable the firm to deliver lower costs over time,” Vanguard said.

Vanguard FTSE Europe ETF

View photo

.

vanguard-europe-etf

The opinions and forecasts expressed herein are solely those of John Spence, and may not actually come to pass. Information on this site should not be used or construed as an offer to sell, a solicitation of an offer to buy, or a recommendation for any product.